Cream colored silk waistcoat: 18th century

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Cream colored silk waistcoat. This waistcoat is decorated with a chic flower pattern in coloured silk and gold and silver thread. The 18th century book 'Plain Reasons for the Growth of Sodomy in England' attributed a supposed increase in homosexuality to men's dress. The author claimed that garments like this waistcoat were effeminate. From the 19th century, male attire was dark and plain. It was not until the 1960s that gay men's flamboyant dress styles influenced mainstream fashion, making it more colourful and adventurous.